Nation

Sleeping with the enemy

Bed bug infestations are on the rise in Malaysia, with some creepy crawlies becoming more resistant against pesticides.

THEY are the hitchhikers that you can’t see.

And when you sleep at night, they feast on your blood. But this is no ghost story.

Bed bug infestations are a real life horror and cases in Malaysia have gone up.

It has been brisk business for pest control operators, some dealing with almost double the number of complaints from the public.

The bugs hide close to you – in the slivers of your mattress, bed frames, electrical wiring and crevices in walls.

But their favourites are places with cushions, including seats in buses, airplanes and cinemas.

One cause for the spike, say operators, is the increase in travel among the people. Known to “hitchhike” humans, these insects and their eggs can latch onto your body, clothes and belongings, and breed when you come home.

They feed on human blood and their bites can cause itchiness or more severe reactions to those allergic to it.

Malaysia’s hot and humid weather isn’t helping either, as it is ideal for them to breed faster – taking one month to hatch from an egg to full adult size.

To top it off, they are also harder to kill now, as these local bugs have developed more resistance towards certain pesticides.

“One of the ways they have adapted is by developing harder cuticles,” explains urban and molecular entomologist Dr Abdul Hafiz Ab Majid.

“While they are not 100% immune to it, they are now more resistant towards pyrethroid-based insecticides,” he says of the chemical commonly found in insecticides for mosquitoes.

From just one treatment, it now takes four to five rounds to completely kill them.

Based on Dr Abdul Hafiz’s survey in 2015, one pest control company dealt with an average of 16 cases a year. But this has increased to between 20 and 25 cases in 2016, he estimates.

Pest control operators also tell Sunday Star that such cases have increased between 10% and 100% as of June this year compared to last year.

A 30% jump in the number of cases was received by Rentokil Initial from January to June this year compared to the same period last year. One of the reasons for this is the increase in travelling, says Rentokil Initial (Malaysia, the Philippines and Brunei) Sdn Bhd managing director Carol Lam.

“Bed bugs primarily attach themselves on humans and belongings like suitcases and clothes.

“You could also be at risk of bringing them home during your commute on public transportation,” she says.

Bed bugs can also travel from your neighbours’ house or spread by guests who visit your home.

In fact, 83% of the cases received by the company, are from homes.

The remaining 17% are from commercial areas, with top places being hotels and resorts (8.5%), offices (2.2%), and industrial and non-food manufacturing premises (1.9%).